Rule of Thumb – Looking Away

Simone: So, don’t look off screen at all? ‘Cause sometimes I feel like I need to do that to, like,

Brian: No. Here, here’s the trick… No. See, what it looks like from the audience point of view, it looks like you’ve forgotten your line so you’re looking up in your head to find the next line. The rule of thumb is, if you’re doing a sequence in a film or a tv show and they’re not going to cut away to what you’re looking at, you can’t look at it.

Simone: Say that last part again. Say that last part again. You cut out a little.

Brian: If we’re not going to cut away to look at what you’re looking at, you can’t look at any of it.

Simone: Oh, I see what you are saying. If the camera isn’t going to spin to… Okay. Got it.

Brian: If it’s not going to pan with you to see what you’re looking at… Like, if somebody’s coming into the room, you naturally would look toward the door. But if no one is coming in the room and you’re talking, why would you look toward the door?

Simone: Yeah. It’s just, sometimes… When I’m talking to you, we maintain good eye contact. But sometimes we break eye contact because we’re thinking about… Like, where would you break eye contact? Just past you? Just, like, a little past you?

Brian: Just a little past me. I might glance down for a second. But I never roll my eyes up in my head.

Simone: Got it. Okay.

Brian: Okay?

Simone: Mhm.

Brian: Okay. Good.